It isn’t really surprising that a “publicity stunt” should be used to advance the cause of “faith” (“Sheriff notes pastors’ ‘arrests’ not real,” March 6, 2014, West Side Leader). After all, a series of hoaxes have been employed for thousands of years. What is disturbing is when secular authorities are asked to give credence to them. For example, the downtown nativity scene is erected year after year without molestation. But as we see, it is not enough. One faith must be exalted above another. Where does it stop and what will be the next demand? The fiscal officer must make a finding to determine any misuse of public funds is repaid to the county. This issue is merely symptomatic of what’s happening nationwide in an assault on critical thinking falling victim to conspiracy theorists, superstitions and mystical absurdities.